1.1 Glossary

This document uses the following terms:

Analysis Services: The abbreviated name for Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services, which is used to create and maintain multidimensional data that is sent to client applications in response to queries. Also referred to as Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) server.

attribute hierarchy: A single-level hierarchy that uses only an attribute or a column from a source, back-end relational database as its hierarchy. An attribute hierarchy typically has the same name as the attribute and is always associated with the attribute on which it is based. An all-level member can optionally be enabled for an attribute hierarchy. See also OLAP hierarchy.

AutoFilter: A mechanism that can be used to filter tabular data based on user-defined criteria such as values, strings, and formatting.

average weighted value: A type of rollup value. It indicates an average that factors the weighted value of all of the child values that are contained within it.

banding: A process and collection of settings that are used to define thresholds or boundaries between changes in indicator statuses. See also column banding and row banding.

base64 encoding: A binary-to-text encoding scheme whereby an arbitrary sequence of bytes is converted to a sequence of printable ASCII characters, as described in [RFC4648].

cell: A box that is formed by the intersection of a row and a column in a worksheet or a table. A cell can contain numbers, strings, and formulas, and various formats can be applied to that data.

child: An object that is immediately below the current object in a hierarchy.

context site: A site that corresponds to the context of the current request.

cube: A set of data that is organized and summarized into a multidimensional structure that is defined by a set of dimensions and measures.

current user: The user who is authenticated during processing operations on a front-end web server or a back-end database server.

current version: The latest version of a document that is available to a user, based on the permissions of the user and the publishing level of the document.

dashboard: A visual interface that displays a related group of interactive scorecard and report views. It provides views into key measures that are relevant to a business practice or process. Dashboard elements provide capabilities, such as shared filters, that enable users to perform tasks such as highlighting trends, comparing data, and controlling the data that is displayed.

data point: An individual value that is plotted in a chart and is represented together with other data points by bars, columns, lines, pie or doughnut slices, dots, and various other shapes, which are referred to as data markers. Data markers of the same color constitute a data series. 

data source: (1) A database, web service, disk, file, or other collection of information from which data is queried or submitted. Supported data sources vary based on application and data provider.

(2) A specified data source type, connection string, and credentials, which can be saved separately to a report server and shared among report projects or embedded in a report definition (.rdl) file.

default member: The dimension member that is used in a query if a member is not specified for the dimension.

descendant: A member that is below the current member in a hierarchy.

deserialize: See unmarshal.

dimension: A structural attribute of a cube, which is an organized hierarchy of categories (levels) that describe data in a fact table. These categories typically describe a similar set of members upon which the user bases an analysis.

display folder: A folder into which attributes, measures, calculated members, and key performance indicators can be organized to facilitate browsing.

document library: A type of list that is a container for documents and folders.

drilldown: A technique that is used to navigate hierarchical data, starting from general data and moving to increasingly finer levels of detail.

fact: A row in a table that contains numerical measures and keys, and associates specific facts with dimension tables, which are referred to as fact tables. A fact contains values that define a data event, such as a sales transaction.

feature: A package of SharePoint elements that can be activated or deactivated for a specific feature scope.

filter: A mechanism by which a set of data is scoped to display only those entries that meet specified logical criteria.

formula: A logical equation or function that produces a result in a spreadsheet application.

globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).

hierarchy: A logical tree structure that organizes the members of a dimension such that each member has one parent member and zero or more child members.

hyperlink: A relationship between two anchors, as described in [RFC1866].

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): An application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS): An extension of HTTP that securely encrypts and decrypts web page requests. In some older protocols, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Sockets Layer" is still used (Secure Sockets Layer has been deprecated). For more information, see [SSL3] and [RFC5246].

item: A unit of content that can be indexed and searched by a search application.

key performance indicator (KPI): A predefined measure that is used to track performance against a strategic goal, objective, plan, initiative, or business process. A visual cue is frequently used to communicate performance against the measure.

level: A relative position in a hierarchy of data. A level is frequently used when describing how to navigate a hierarchy in an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) database or a PivotTable report.

list: (1) A container within a SharePoint site that stores list items. A list has a customizable schema that is composed of one or more fields.

(2) An organization of a region of cells into a tabular structure in a workbook.

list item: An individual entry within a SharePoint list. Each list item has a schema that maps to fields in the list that contains the item, depending on the content type of the item.

login name: A string that is used to identify a user or entity to an operating system, directory service, or distributed system. For example, in Windows-integrated authentication, a login name uses the form "DOMAIN\username".

major version: An iteration of a software component, document, or list item that is ready for a larger group to see, or has changed significantly from the previous major version. For an item on a SharePoint site, the minor version is always "0" (zero) for a major version.

master page: An ASP.NET file that has a predefined layout that can include static text, HTML elements, and server controls.

MD5: A one-way, 128-bit hashing scheme that was developed by RSA Data Security, Inc., as described in [RFC1321].

measure: In a cube, a set of values that are typically numeric and are based on a column in the fact table of the cube. Measures are the central values that are aggregated and analyzed.

measure group: A collection of related measures in a cube that derive from a single fact table, typically in a data source view.

member: (1) A user in the Members group of a site.

(2) See OLAP member.

Multidimensional Expressions (MDX): A syntax that is used for defining multidimensional objects, and for querying and manipulating multidimensional data.

named set: A grouping of dimension members or items from a data source or a set expression that is named and treated as a single unit and that can be referenced or reused multiple times.

normalized: In relational database design, the movement of data toward its optimized state, typically third normal form, to avoid redundancy and inconsistency and to promote efficient maintenance and storage of that data.

object: A set of attributes, each with its associated values. Two attributes of an object have special significance: an identifying attribute and a parent-identifying attribute. An identifying attribute is a designated single-valued attribute that appears on every object; the value of this attribute identifies the object. For the set of objects in a replica, the values of the identifying attribute are distinct. A parent-identifying attribute is a designated single-valued attribute that appears on every object; the value of this attribute identifies the object's parent. That is, this attribute contains the value of the parent's identifying attribute, or a reserved value identifying no object. For the set of objects in a replica, the values of this parent-identifying attribute define a tree with objects as vertices and child-parent references as directed edges with the child as an edge's tail and the parent as an edge's head. Note that an object is a value, not a variable; a replica is a variable. The process of adding, modifying, or deleting an object in a replica replaces the entire value of the replica with a new value. As the word replica suggests, it is often the case that two replicas contain "the same objects". In this usage, objects in two replicas are considered the same if they have the same value of the identifying attribute and if there is a process in place (replication) to converge the values of the remaining attributes. When the members of a set of replicas are considered to be the same, it is common to say "an object" as shorthand referring to the set of corresponding objects in the replicas.

objective KPI: A type of key performance indicator (KPI) that derives its target value and score from a rollup of the child KPIs that are contained within it.

OLAP calculated member: An OLAP member whose value is calculated at run time.

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP): A technology that uses multidimensional structures to provide access to data for analysis. The source data for OLAP is stored in data warehouses in a relational database. See also cube.

PivotChart report: A chart that uses a PivotCache for source data and inherits filtering and sorting functionality from a PivotTable report.

PivotTable: An interactive table that summarizes large amounts of data from various sources by using format and calculation methods. Row and column headings can be rotated to view different summaries of the source data, filter the data, or display detail data for specific areas.

pixel: A discrete unit of display on a computer display device.

Portable Network Graphics (PNG): A bitmap graphics file format that uses lossless data compression and supports variable transparency of images (alpha channels) and control of image brightness on different computers (gamma correction). PNG-format files have a .png file name extension.

published item: A specific named object that is in a published workbook.

query: A formalized instruction to a data source to either extract data or perform a specified action. A query can be in the form of a query expression, a method-based query, or a combination of the two. The data source can be in different forms, such as a relational database, XML document, or in-memory object. See also search query.

report: A database object that provides a static representation of a set of data and can be used to group, sort, summarize, and aggregate data. The data in a report cannot be edited.

report view: An object that is used to display data in a dashboard. It can be coordinated with other report views by using filters. Examples of report views include analytic grids and charts, PivotTable reports, strategy maps, trend charts, and webpages.

rollup: A type of calculated value that is derived from the aggregated scores of child or descendant key performance indicators (KPIs) in a scorecard.

score: A measurement of how accurately an analysis model predicts new data. It can be used to measure the effectiveness of an analysis model by adjusting various values in the model.

scorecard: A report that depicts organizational and business performance by displaying a collection of key performance indicators (KPIs) with performance targets for those KPIs. Each KPI compares actual performance to goals for an area. A scorecard can be organized hierarchically and typically contains visualization tools such as trend charts and conditional formatting.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL): A security protocol that supports confidentiality and integrity of messages in client and server applications that communicate over open networks. SSL supports server and, optionally, client authentication using X.509 certificates [X509] and [RFC5280]. SSL is superseded by Transport Layer Security (TLS). TLS version 1.0 is based on SSL version 3.0 [SSL3].

security zone: A setting that determines whether a resource, such as a website, can access data on other domains, or access files and settings on a user's computer. There are four security zones: Internet, Local intranet, Trusted sites, and Restricted sites. The zone to which a resource is assigned specifies the security settings that are used for that resource. See also form security level.

server: (1) A computer on which the remote procedure call (RPC) server is executing.

(2) A replicating machine that sends replicated files to a partner (client). The term "server" refers to the machine acting in response to requests from partners that want to receive replicated files.

server-relative URL: A relative URL that does not specify a scheme or host, and assumes a base URI of the root of the host, as described in [RFC3986].

Simple Time Period Specification (STPS): A language and syntax that can be used to define time-based expressions, such as offsets from a specific date or the current date.

site: (1) A group of related webpages that is hosted by a server on the World Wide Web or an intranet. Each website has its own entry points, metadata, administration settings, and workflows. Also referred to as web site.

(2) A group of related pages and data within a SharePoint site collection. The structure and content of a site is based on a site definition. Also referred to as SharePoint site and web site.

site collection: A set of websites that are in the same content database, have the same owner, and share administration settings. A site collection can be identified by a GUID or the URL of the top-level site for the site collection. Each site collection contains a top-level site, can contain one or more subsites, and can have a shared navigational structure.

slice: A subset of the data in a cube. It is specified by limiting one or more dimensions based on members of those dimensions.

slicer: A mechanism that is used to filter data in one or more PivotTable reports or cube functions.

SOAP: A lightweight protocol for exchanging structured information in a decentralized, distributed environment. SOAP uses XML technologies to define an extensible messaging framework, which provides a message construct that can be exchanged over a variety of underlying protocols. The framework has been designed to be independent of any particular programming model and other implementation-specific semantics. SOAP 1.2 supersedes SOAP 1.1. See [SOAP1.2-1/2003].

SOAP action: The HTTP request header field used to indicate the intent of the SOAP request, using a URI value. See [SOAP1.1] section 6.1.1 for more information.

SOAP body: A container for the payload data being delivered by a SOAP message to its recipient. See [SOAP1.2-1/2007] section 5.3 for more information.

SOAP fault: A container for error and status information within a SOAP message. See [SOAP1.2-1/2007] section 5.4 for more information.

SOAP fault detail: A string containing a human-readable explanation of a SOAP fault, which is not intended for algorithmic processing. See [SOAP1.2-1/2007] section 5.4.5 for more information.

strategy map: A performance management tool that is used to visually present objectives and goals, groupings of objectives and goals, and mappings of objectives and goals to themes, initiatives, key performance indicators (KPIs), targets, business processes, and action plans.

subsite: A complete website that is stored in a named subdirectory of another website. The parent website can be the top-level site of a site collection or another subsite. Also referred to as subweb.

target: An actor to which a task is assigned.

target application: A logical entity that represents a software system for which credentials are maintained. It consists of metadata including the number and type of credentials that are required by the software system and a set of claims that identify the administrators who can update, read, and delete the entity.

time intelligence: A type of computation that is used to update data automatically, relative to the current time, in scorecards and reports.

tooltip: A window displaying text that is created when the mouse is moved over a window or notification icon.

transform: An operation that is performed on data to change it from one form to another. Two examples of transforms are compression and encryption.

trusted location: A directory with properties that indicate how an application processes documents.

tuple: An ordered grouping of members from different dimensions or hierarchies. A single member is a special case of a tuple and can be used as an expression. Every hierarchy does not have to be represented in a tuple.

UI culture: The language that is used to display strings and graphical elements in a user interface.

Unified Modeling Language (UML): A language that can be used to specify, build, and document software and other systems, such as business models.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL): A string of characters in a standardized format that identifies a document or resource on the World Wide Web. The format is as specified in [RFC1738].

UTF-8: A byte-oriented standard for encoding Unicode characters, defined in the Unicode standard. Unless specified otherwise, this term refers to the UTF-8 encoding form specified in [UNICODE5.0.0/2007] section 3.9.

Web Part: A reusable component that contains or generates web-based content such as XML, HTML, and scripting code. It has a standard property schema and displays that content in a cohesive unit on a webpage. See also Web Parts Page.

Web Services Description Language (WSDL): An XML format for describing network services as a set of endpoints that operate on messages that contain either document-oriented or procedure-oriented information. The operations and messages are described abstractly and are bound to a concrete network protocol and message format in order to define an endpoint. Related concrete endpoints are combined into abstract endpoints, which describe a network service. WSDL is extensible, which allows the description of endpoints and their messages regardless of the message formats or network protocols that are used.

whitespace: A character that can be found between words, including a space (" "), a carriage return in combination with a line feed (newline), and a tab character.

workbook: A container for a collection of sheets.

WSDL message: An abstract, typed definition of the data that is communicated during a WSDL operation [WSDL]. Also, an element that describes the data being exchanged between web service providers and clients.

WSDL operation: A single action or function of a web service. The execution of a WSDL operation typically requires the exchange of messages between the service requestor and the service provider.

XML document: A document object that is well formed, as described in [XML10/5], and might be valid. An XML document has a logical structure that is composed of declarations, elements, comments, character references, and processing instructions. It also has a physical structure that is composed of entities, starting with the root, or document, entity.

XML namespace: A collection of names that is used to identify elements, types, and attributes in XML documents identified in a URI reference [RFC3986]. A combination of XML namespace and local name allows XML documents to use elements, types, and attributes that have the same names but come from different sources. For more information, see [XMLNS-2ED].

XML namespace prefix: An abbreviated form of an XML namespace, as described in [XML].

XML schema: A description of a type of XML document that is typically expressed in terms of constraints on the structure and content of documents of that type, in addition to the basic syntax constraints that are imposed by XML itself. An XML schema provides a view of a document type at a relatively high level of abstraction.

MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.